Vehicle occupant restraining safety apparatus

Abstract

A vehicle occupant restraining safety apparatus for use in a vehicle having at least one seat assembly installed inside the body of the vehicle and which includes an elongated knee protector positioned frontwardly of the seat assembly in face-to-face relationship to the knees of an occupant sitting on the seat assembly, a safety seat belt having one end thereof connected to the knee protector and the other end connected to the vehicle body at a position upwardly and rearwards of the back of the seat assembly, and a guide eye member through which a substantially intermediate portion of the seat belt loosely extends. While a portion of the seat belt on one side of the eye member and adjacent the one end thereof extends on one side of the seat assembly, another portion of the seat belt on the other side of the eye member and adjacent the other end thereof extends diagonally across the back of the seat assembly for restraining the body of the occupant.

I claim: 
     
       1. A vehicle occupant restraining safety apparatus for use in a vehicle having at least one seat assembly installed inside the body of the vehicle, which comprises, in combination: an elongated and bendable knee protector mounted inside the vehicle body and frontwardly of the seat assembly in face-to-face relationship to the position of the knees of an occupant who may sit on the seat assembly, said knee protector being supported at its opposite end portions on the vehicle body and having an elongated base member and a cushioning means covering at least the surface area of the base member which faces toward the position of the knees of the occupant;   a safety seat belt having first and second opposite ends, said first and second ends of the seat belt being respectively connected to the knee protector and the vehicle body, the point of connection of the first end of the seat belt to the knee protector being located on one of the opposite sides of the seat assembly and frontwardly of the seat assembly and the point of connection of the second end of the seat belt to the vehicle body being located on the other of said opposite sides of the seat assembly and upwardly and rearwards of the seat assembly;   a guide eye member rigidly connected to the vehicle body at a position on said one of said opposite sides of the seat assembly and downwardly and rearwards of the seat assembly, said seat belt extending loosely through said guide eye member such that a first portion of the seat belt adjacent the first end thereof extends on said one of the opposite sides of the seat assembly between the guide eye member and the knee protector and a second portion of the seat belt adjacent the second end extends diagonally across the back of the seat assembly and frontwardly of the occupant; and   an automatic self-locking retractor connected between one of said first and second ends of the seat belt and the structure to which said one end is connected.   
     
     
       2. A vehicle occupant restraining safety apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said retractor is connected between the first end of said seat belt and said knee protector. 
     
     
       3. A vehicle occupant restraining safety apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said retractor is connected between the second end of said seat belt and the vehicle body. 
     
     
       4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said base member comprises an elongated hollow casing. 
     
     
       5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 4, further comprising means interposed between the second end of the seat belt and the vehicle body for releaseably connecting the second end of the seat belt to the vehicle body.